We love to read stories of good deeds done on Facebook. You might even share yours with friends on Facebook. I have, and you probably have too!
Our motive is often to encourage our friends to engage in good deeds as well. In some cases, people have alterior motives for posting their acts of kindness on Facebook. They use it to promote themselves.
Do good deeds diminish when we share our acts of kindness with others?
I think so, but then we have to way the benefits of sharing them. Are we not helping even more by encouraging others to do as we are doing?
Sharing our acts of kindness are often met with criticism from those who feel we are self-promoting. And, they may be right, but at the same time, are they saying more about themselves, that they are about you?
People who are jealous, selfish and vindictive are often the types of people who condemn good deeds.
But, we have to consider what the Bible says as well.
“Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your father in heaven.” – Matthew 6:1 NLT
Let's think about what the Bible is telling us to avoid doing our Act of Kindness publicly for our personal benefit and to earn the respect of others.
It doesn't say, we should avoid from doing good things for others in public. The key is, why we are doing what we are doing.
Publicizing Good Deeds on Facebook to Engage Others
I made a big push to help others at risk when a major flood threatened my community. I volunteered my time hauling sandbags to people in homes and businesses, working long hours.
We used Facebook to live video our efforts, hoping to encourage others to help with the impending flood, and to reach people who need help.
It worked, and yet we had people who criticized our efforts as self-promotion.
Yes, I recieved praise often for my efforts, but I didn't do it for self-promotion. I did it to help those when they needed it most. I made a difference.
Did I benefit from the appreciation others gave? Yes. But I did not need their praise. I had already received a greater blessing from helping those, who I quite often never met.
At the same time, I am committing to doing good deeds without sharing them publicly. Yes, there are many things that I do for others and I choose not to broadcast them. They do not require praise from others, and those are the ones that prove far more valuable to me.
This post is part of my journey through the New Testament. I am writing thoughts as I read each chapter in each book. This post is based on Matthew Chapter 6. The Previous post on Matthew Chapter 5 is viewable here.